Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 193

On Fridays I share articles/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions. If you read something fascinating please pass it my way.

Things Glen Found Interesting

The Genesis of the Tech Industry, and Vice Versa (Tyler Cowen, Bloomberg Opinion): “In the Book of Genesis, the underlying model of economics is a pretty optimistic one, and that is another way in which Western history draws upon its Judeo-Christian roots.” Fascinating.

Marc Edwards Is a Sad Victim of Our Modern Political Era (Kevin Drum, Mother Jones): “…just as he had honestly exposed Flint’s problems in the first place, he also continued to honestly report the results of the intervention. When the water was once again safe, he said so—and that turned him from a hero into a pariah.” How have I not heard this? I was talking with a friend last week about how shocking it is that the water in Flint is still unsafe.

Why Did Evangelicals Flock to Trump? Existential Fear. (AJ Nolte, The Bulwark): “Donald Trump appeared at a time during which many evangelicals’ rising expectations had turned, rather rapidly, into existential fear. Trump was uniquely positioned to exploit that moment and win over evangelicals. Yet while that support is very real, I also think it is shallower and more conditional than it appears.” Dr. Nolte is a political science professor at Regent University.

Very much related: The Indecent-American Community (Rod Dreher, The American Conservative): “Remind me again why Christians vote for Trump, despite his personal corruption? You think it might have something to do with the fact that we know what the Democrats have planned for us?”

Related to the above, but not so much to the initial link: When being a Christian isn’t “decent” anymore (Denny Burk, personal blog): “…it appears as a matter of course that it is open season on Christians who dare to affirm what the Bible teaches about sexual ethics. This is the new reality for Christians who hold the line on biblical sexual ethics, and I don’t see any signs of things letting up. On the contrary, this kind of open animus only seems to be spreading.”

“Gay” vs “Same-Sex Attraction”: A Dialogue (Greg Coles & Rachel Gilson, The Center For Faith, Sexuality, and Gender): “Both Greg and Rachel believe in a historically Christian view of marriage and sexual relationships. Rachel does not identify as gay or lesbian, even though she experiences same-sex attraction. Greg does identify as gay, preferring the term over ‘same-sex attracted.’” This is an introductory article that links to a seven-part series. It is shorter than it sounds (the second-to-last article is fairly long, however). Recommended.

Related: The Christian Debate Over Sexual Identity (Sam Allberry, Desiring God): “As a Christian, one of the key things for me is realizing that identity as Christians is not something that we discover in ourselves, nor is it something we create. It’s something we receive and are given by the only person who can know our actual identity, which is the God who made us. So my identity as a Christian comes from the fact that I’ve been created by God and redeemed by him through the saving work of Jesus.” This is a bit older.

I’m a Journalist. Apparently, I’m Also One of America’s “Top Doctors.” (Marshall Allen, ProPublica): “I don’t have a medical degree, and I’m not a physician. But I am an investigative journalist who specializes in health care. So I leaned forward in my seat with some anticipation when I returned the call last year. I spoke to a cheerful saleswoman named Anne at a company on New York’s Long Island that hands out the Top Doctor Awards. For some reason, she believed I was a physician and, even better, worthy of one of their awards. Puzzled and amused, I took notes.”

Trans Men Erase Women (Charlotte Allen, First Things): “Male-to-female transgender athletes are vanishingly few in number (like male-to-female trans people in general), but as the above examples indicate, when they compete, they pose a crushing existential threat to women’s sports. That is because the very existence of women’s sports is predicated, as Martina Navratilova recognized, on the now-highly politically incorrect observation that the two sexes are radically different physically.”

The Pell Affair: Australia Is Now On Trial (George Weigel, First Things): “If it is not reversed on appeal, that false verdict will constitute a new indictment: the indictment of a legal system that could not bring itself to render justice in the face of public hysteria, political vendetta, and media aggression.”

Related: Cardinal Pell story is an extremely tangled web, but readers need alternative media to know that (Julia Duin, GetReligion): “I hadn’t been following the child abuse charges against Australian Cardinal Pell all that much because I assumed, based on the evidence, that they were somewhat flimsy and would never stick. But they did — in a series of trials that are as odd as they come. At the heart of the proceedings there was a single witness and what appeared to be ‘recovered memories’ of abuse. The end result? A cardinal is now in jail and a bunch of journalists have been handed the Aussie equivalent of contempt-of-court charges.”

Things Glen Found Interesting A While Ago

Every week I’ll highlight an older link still worth your consideration. This week we have The world will only get weirder (Steven Coast, personal blog): “We fixed all the main reasons aircraft crash a long time ago. Sometimes a long, long time ago. So, we are left with the less and less probable events.” The piece is a few years old so the examples are dated, but it remains very intriguing. (first shared in volume 67)

Why Do You Send This Email?

In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar produced shrewd warriors “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do” (1 Chron 12:32). In a similar way, we need to become wise people whose faith interacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar.

Disclaimer

Chi Alpha is not a partisan organization. To paraphrase another minister: we are not about the donkey’s agenda and we are not about the elephant’s agenda — we are about the Lamb’s agenda. Having said that, I read widely (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass the ideological Turing test and in part because I do not believe I can fairly say “I agree” or “I disagree” until I can say “I understand”) and may at times share articles that have a strong partisan bias simply because I find the article stimulating. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with everything an author says in an article I mention, much less things the author has said in other articles (although if I strongly disagree with something in the article I’ll usually mention it). And to the extent you can discern my opinions, please understand that they are my own and not necessarily those of Chi Alpha or any other organization I may be perceived to represent.

Also, remember that I’m not reporting news — I’m giving you a selection of things I found interesting. There’s a lot happening in the world that’s not making an appearance here because I haven’t found stimulating articles written about it.

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